Being Canadian

So I was listening to CBC Radio again while I was driving all over the city today and they had this show come on about 'What it Means to be Canadian' they were interviewing 'new' canadians and it really made me appreciate how great it is to live here and be Canadian.   The show is on cbc.ca/now or never.   We take so much for granted;
We can speak our mind
We can protest against things we don't like
We can vote
We can travel safely
We can walk down the streets and not worry about gunfire
We can get married or not if we choose
We can practice any religion
We live in a beautiful, healthy country
We can experience different cultures in our Canadian 'salad bowl'
We can be who we want to be!
I would recommend that everyone listen to this show on Canada Day it will help you appreciate being Canadian.

Brain Freeze

I have been struggling with the tai chi sword form I am learning.  My brain is full and I can't see to successfully move forward with additional moves ... adding anything seems overwhelming and I just don't retain it.  I have tried tricking myself by saying ... hey brain that was part 1 and now we are going to learn part 2 but its not cooperating. So I have changed my focus to improving the performance of what I know (part 1) and giving myself a bit of a rest on adding new moves.  Its frustrating for me, I do not remember things as well as I would like and its frustrating for Sifu Beckett as she keeps showing me the same stuff over and over.  In my hand form I have been working on using my waist more in my Tai Hua form as Sifu suggested and it feels better, if I remember to move my feet as required by the Wudang style it is better balanced and flows nice.

The name of the book is 'Collaborating with the Enemy' tried chapters/indigo none of the stores in the area have it so I will ordered it on Amazon.ca.  I have to WAIT like 2 weeks!! 

Getting it Done!

So my daughter Melanie pointed out something about my behaviour that I was unaware of.  She told me that I am all about the task, getting it done, and I am not appreciating the fun/joyful aspects of the task ... just get the task done, tick it off the list.

Yes I am a type A get things done type of person.  However I did not realize that I was not participating very well in the sharing, visiting, quality time with people part of things, like I Ho Chuan events,  things around the house, work, and work events.  I go ... I do what I got to do ... mentally check it off the list and I am ready to move on to the next one.  Mel said she thinks I am addicted to the rush you get when you have completed a task (apparently there is such a thing, who knew) and I am not taking time to be in the moment, with the people, sharing the experience. 

I have spent the last month studying how I approach and do these types of things.  At the pandamonium in the morning I must admit I was all about the task, setting things up, making sure the things that needed to happen and get done did.  Did I have fun? I made myself take a deep breath and enjoyed my time on the mats at the kwoon, doing the dragon dances and hanging out with people.  But she does have a point, I am about completing the tasks,  the fundraising is a list of things to do with the money as a reward, did I take time to share/connect with people? Not really. 

At work this is my mode, lots of things to get done and check off the list because if you procrastinate it will come back to bite you. 

I think I have designated things like, gardening, vacations and some family get togethers (depends on the family members) as things that I am allowed to linger over and enjoy. If there is a goal or a deadline I am focused only on that and not enough on the journey/experience of getting there.  I have been working on being in the moment a lot more this past month but I keep getting distracted by the next thing on the mental lists that I keep that need to get done.  TV & books allow me to escape my busyness for awhile but again I am inside my head and not interacting with people and being in the moment with them as much as I probably should. 

This was kind of depressing revelation and I am not sure I am even evaluating this correctly.  I will continue to keep this in mind as I move forward.